BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull turned the air blue when he mistakenly said the word c***s.

He was reading a letter from a viewer alongside co-host Naga Munchetty when he stumbled over the word 'clients' and uttered the profanity before sheepishly looking at the camera when he realised his mistake.

The video that has been uploaded to YouTube and viewed hundreds of times shows Turnbull saying: "He's been a barber for 32 years. He's spotted cancer on two customers.

"I regularly speak to clients on illness and pass the knowledge on to other c***s..er clients as well."

A BBC spokeswoman said: "Bill unintentionally stumbled over his words and we apologise if any offence was caused."

Turnbull seemed to see the funny side of the matter when he later tweeted: "Memo to self: never confuse 'customers' with 'clients' on air. It's just asking for trouble..."

His Twitter fans, however, were sympathetic towards his misdemeanour.

YouTube Cancer